Syracuse's Tiana Mangakahia Has A WNBA Future, Whenever She Wants It

SYRACUSE, NY - NOVEMBER 30: Tiana Mangakahia #4 of the Syracuse Orange drives to the basket against the defense of Abi Scheid #44 of the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at the Carrier Dome on November 30, 2017 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

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It's hard to overstate just how absurd the assist percentage Tiana Mangakahia, point guard for the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team, put up last season.

60.4%.

It's not just that Mangakahia led the country. It's that she lapped the field. Taeler Deer checked in at second place nationally—at 44.7 percent. The gap between how often a Mangakahia possession led to an assist and the second-best in the country was as wide as the gap between Deer and Tanisha Brown—the 116th-best in the country at finding her teammates.

And 60.4 percent wasn't just great relative to last season—going back t0 2012-13, which is as far back as National Statistical keeps this stat, no point guard had even cracked 50 percent, let alone 60. Almesha Jones of Morehead State and Jamierra Faulkner of Southern Mississippi are the only ones to top 49, back in 2013-14.

"I know that my turnovers needed to go down for this season compared to last season so I've been really working on that and I guess I've been a bit safer with my passes," Mangakahia said following Syracuse's 75-65 win over Texas A&M last week in White Plains, NY. "I haven't been forcing anything, and I've been thinking about it more on the court instead of rushing and forcing what I think might be there. I'll just hold it out this season. I think that's helped my turnovers go down, and obviously my assists aren't as high, but I'm not too worried about that as long as we win."

The numbers bear her out—her turnover percentage is down, 23.9 percent this year after a 26.1 percent mark last year—and even that is misleading, as many of her turnovers this season came late in the game against the Aggies under full-court pressure, not forcing passes in the halfcourt set. Her accuracy from both two and three-point range is up, as are her rebounding numbers at both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

It's the kind of season that draws attention from WNBA talent evaluators. In consecutive games, Mangakahia went up against Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M. She held her own against Ionescu, and was clearly, to my eyes, the superior player to Carter in Westchester. Overall, she averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and shot 55.6 percent from the field over those two showcase games.

"I think she just took it as a challenge," Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said following the game. "And I think it's gotten to a point where it's been hammered into her head that these will probably be the best two point guards arguably that you can play in the country."

After the game, Texas A&M coach Gary Blair put Mangakahia in his list of the top five point guards in the country, and the reasons to think so extend beyond just the court vision, which is spectacular. The junior is also north of a four percent steal rate once again, doing the kind of work defensively on Carter that few have managed so far in her stellar career.

Notably, it will be up to Mangakahia whether she wants to play her senior season at Syracuse or enter the WNBA draft in 2019. She's 23, already played for Hutchinson Junior College before transferring to Syracuse, and may want the professional challenge.

Considering her work as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll continues to improve—per Synergy, 0.764 points per possession last year, solid, but up to a robust 1.045 points per possession so far this year—it is easy to see how she'll fit into a pro scheme.

She acknowledged it has been something she's considering, though she hasn't made any decisions yet.

"I think it's still a bit early to think about what I'm gonna be doing after the season," Mangakahia said. "I haven't really thought about it yet. It's definitely on my mind whether to leave or to stay. But I'm not sure."

What is for certain is that even with that assist percentage descending from otherworldly into the mere realm of excellent, people shouldn't overlook Mangakahia, not just for this level, but for the next one as well.